ME3302 IC Engines and Gas Turbines

IC Engine Emissions
Emission from vehicles
 Emissions from automotive vehicles
Automotive vehicles, air crafts, locomotives, farm equipment, construction
machinery etc.
Emission from vehicles are two types;
• Exhaust emissions
• Non exhaust emissions

Exhaust emissions;
Unburnt hyrocarbon(UHC), carbon monoxide(CO), carbon dioxide(CO2),
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx), Oxides of Sulphur(SOx), Particulate matter,
aldehyde, phosperous oxide etc

Non exhaust emissions;

• Due to evaporation of fuel , breathing , hot engine and fuel displacement
of vapors
 The Combustion Process
(theoretical)

ACm Hn + BO2 + C N2

Energy!!

D CO2 + E H2 O + FN2
Carbon Water Nitrogen
Dioxide (Steam)
 Hydrocarbons
• HC is 6000 ppm in SI engine.
• 1-1.5% of the fuel
• About 40% is unburned components
• Other 60% is partially reacted components that were not originally
present in the fuel.
• These consist of small non equilibriumm molecules-formed when
large molecules brake up.
• It is convenient to treat these molecules as if they containe one carbon
atom (CH1)
• They act as irritants and odorants and some are carcinogenic.
HC emissions

 It is a strong function of air fuel ratio.

It is due to;
 Incomplete combustion
 Crevice volume and flow in crevice
 Leakage past the exhaust valve
 Valve overlap
 Deposit on walls
 Oil on combustion chamber walls.
Incomplete combustion

(a) Improper mixing

(b)Flame quenching

Flame quenching :

 A layer of unreacted air fuel mixture about 100 microns stick on

the wall.
 Some of them near the wall does not get burned as the flame front
passes will burn later due to additional mixing, swirl and
turbulence.
 Another reason is expansion of gases that occurs during the
combustion and power stroke.
 High exhaust gases contamination causes poor combustion which
in turn causes quenching during expansion at low and idle loads.
 High level of EGR also causes quenching of flame.
 By incorporating additional spark plug at proper location can
avoid flame quenching.
Crevice volume and flow in crevices
Leakage past the exhaust valve

 Escape of small fresh air fuel mixture is inevitable.

 Idle and low load conditions.

Deposits on walls;

 Air fuel mixture is absorbed by the fuel or carbon deposits on

walls of the combustion chamber.
 It is a function of gas pressure.
 Maximum absorption occurs in the compression and combustion
stroke.
 Gas particles desorbed back into the cylinder.
 These particles along with HC leave the exhaust.
 Higher in higher CR engines
 High swirl keeps the engine cylinder wall clean.
 When Leaded gasoline is burned the lead components make the
walls harder and less porous to gas absorption.
Oil on Combustion chamber walls;

 Thin layer of oil gets deposited on walls to provide lubrication.

 During the suction, the air fuel mixture comes in contact with this.
 Carbon Monoxide (CO) Emission

 When the engine is operated with a fuel-rich equivalence ratio, then

there is not enough oxygen to convert all carbon to CO2, some fuel does
not get burned and ends up as CO. It also represents as lost chemical
energy.

 Poor mixing, local rich regions and incomplete combustion are the
source for CO emission.

 The exhaust of an SI engine will be about 0.2 to 5% CO. Rich mixture is

required during starting and accelerating under load.

 CI engines that operate overall lean generally have very low CO

emissions.
 Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)
 Exhaust gases of an engine can have up to 2000 ppm of oxides of nitrogen.

 Released NOx reacts in the atmosphere to form ozone and is one of the
major causes of photochemical smog.

 NOx is created mostly from nitrogen in air and in fuel blends. Fuel may
contain trace amounts of NH3 , NC and HCN. The possible reactions during
combustion process that form NO are as follows,

 O + N2 = NO + N
 N + O2 = NO + O
 N + OH = NO + H

 NO is again react to form NO2 ,

 NO + H2O = NO2 + H2
 NO + O2 = NO2 + O
 At very high combustion temperature diatomic nitrogen breaks
down to monatomic nitrogen which contribute to the formation of
NOx.
 NOx is formed at a slightly lean equivalence ratio of about Φ=0.95.

 In addition to temperature, the formation of NOx depends on

pressure, air-fuel ratio and combustion duration within the
cylinder.

 NOx is reduced in modern engines with fast-burn combustion

chambers.
 In SI engine the highest concentration is formed around the spark
plug,. If spark is advanced, the cylinder temperature will increase and
more NOx will create.

 In CI engine high compression ratios and indirect injection tend to

generate higher levels of NOx emission.
Effect of air fuel ratio
Emission trend in CI engines
 Photochemical smog
 Smog is formed by the photochemical reaction of automobile
exhaust and the atmospheric air in the presence of sunlight which
is given by following reaction

 NO2 + energy from sunlight = NO – O + Smog

 Monatomic oxygen is highly reactive which led to the formation of

ozone,
 O + O2 = O3

 Ozone also results from atmospheric reactions with other engine

emissions such as HC, aldehydes and other oxides of nitrogen.

 Ground level ozone is harmful to lungs, other biological tissues,

plants and causes very heavy crop losses.
Aldehyde emission

R C O
 Particulate matter

 Particulates are solid carbon soot particles which are seen as

exhaust smoke in CI engines.

 Maximum density of particulate emission is generated in the fuel-

rich zones i.e. at WOT condition ( maximum fuel is injected to
supply maximum power).

 Ex- when a truck or railroad locomotive accelerates up a hill or

from a stop.
 Soot particles are clusters of solid carbon spheres, diameter ranges
from 9-90 nm mostly are 15-30 nm with HC and traces of other
components absorbed on the surface.

 Up to about 25% of carbon in soot comes from lubricating oil and

rest comes from the fuel i.e. 0.2-0.5% of the fuel.
 SOF is the absorbed portion of the soot particles. At light loads the
cylinder temperature drops as low as 200ºC during final expansion and
exhaust blow-down. At this condition SOF is 50% of the total mass of
soot.

 SOF consists of hydrocarbon components with some hydrogen, NO, NO2 ,

SO2 and trace amount of calcium, chromium, iron, phosphorus, silicon,
sulphur and zinc.

 Particulate generation can be reduced by extending the combustion

timing by combustion chamber designing, higher injection pressure and
controlling the injection timing and valve timing.
 Oxides of Sulphur(SOx)

• This term is used for a number of compounds containing sulfur

• Primarily caused by burning of coal, oil and various industrial processes

• They can affect the respiratory system

• They react in the atmosphere to form acids, sulfates and sulfites

• Substantial reductions due to controls at the sources and through use of low
sulfur fuels
 Other emissions

(A)Aldehydes
This is product of incomplete combustion and would be major problem
if as much alcohol fuel were used as presently as gasoline.

(B ) Lead
 The additive TEL is used to increase gasoline octane number, which
allow higher compression ratios and engine will work more efficiently.
But lead in exhaust is highly poisonous pollutants. It also hardened the
combustion chamber surface.
 Leaded gasoline contains about 0.15 gm/lit of lead in the fuel.
(C) Phosphorus
Phosphorus emission in the exhaust resulted from impurities in the
air and small amounts of phosphorus found in some fuel blends and
lubricating oil
Black, blue and white smoke from diesel engine
 Diesel smoke

 Basically there are 3 types of smoke emitted from a diesel engine

black, blue and white.

 Smoke should be taken as an indication that there is a problem

existing that will potentially shorten the engine life, or result in
unnecessary costs.A diesel engine in good condition should produce
no visible smoke from the exhaust, under most operating conditions.

 A short puff of smoke when an engine is accelerated under load may

be acceptable, due to the lag before the turbocharger speed and air
flow is able to match the volume of diesel injected into the cylinders,
but that would only apply to older technology diesel engines.
 Modern type diesels. no smoke at all should be evident.

BLACK smoke
It indicates incomplete combustion of the fuel. Black smoke causes can vary
widely and include ..
 Incorrect fuel injection timing .. commonly too retarded.
 Fuel injection pump wear, or incorrect settings .. commonly retarded.
 Faulty cold start, or faulty advance/retard mechanisms .. commonly
retarded.
 Incorrect air/fuel ratio setting .. excessive fuel to air ratio.
 Under-performing turbocharger pressure low.
 Dirty or worn fuel injectors .. commonly carbon deposits affecting
spray pattern.
 Carbon deposits in combustion chambers .. common in lightly
loaded engines.
 Excessive carbon build-up around exhaust valves and exhaust
spaces.
 Sticking piston rings .. often due to carbon deposits.
 Glazed cylinder cross-hatch .. due to carbon deposits.
 Incorrect valve clearances .. often timing error when replacing cam-
belts.
 Faulty valve stem seals .. rarely.
 Engine wear in general -often misdiagnosed when carbon deposits
are the real problem.

 Engine oil viscosity too low .. check oil grade against operating
conditions.

 Cool operating temperatures .. coolant should reach 85C, or higher.

Check thermostats.
 Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system faulty, or blocked with
carbon.

 Engine overloaded .reduce load, use lower gear, clean anti-foul,

change propeller pitch.

 High altitude operation .. lack of oxygen to complete fuel burn.

 Dirty or restricted air cleaner systems .. air intake filter partially

blocked.

 Poor quality fuel.

Blue smoke

 Blue smoke is often evident at cold start, which can reflect

reduced oil control due to carbon fouling deposits around the
piston rings and/or cylinder glaze (which is actually carbon
deposited in the machined cylinder crosshatching).

 These tiny grooves actually hold a film of oil, which in turn

completes the seal between the combustion chamber and the oil
wetted crankcase).

 Blue smoke is caused by engine lubricating oil burning.

 The oil can enter the combustion chamber from several sources
including;
 Worn valve guides, or seals
 Cylinder &/or piston ring wear
 Cylinder glaze
 Piston ring sticking
 Incorrect grade of oil .. too thin and getting past rings, or valves
guides
 Fuel dilution of the oil, making it too thin.
White smoke

 Continuous evidence of white smoke indicates a mechanical

defect, or incorrect fuel timing.

 The most common causes are fouling deposits around piston rings
and/or cylinder glazing.

 Water entering combustion spaces will also create white smoke

 Faulty head gaskets and cracked cylinder heads or blocks are a

common cause of water entry .
 White smoke is caused by raw, unburnt fuel passing into the
exhaust stream

Common causes include

 Incorrect fuel injection timing
 Defective fuel injectors
 Low cylinder compression caused by leaking valves, sticking
piston rings, ring wear, cylinder wear, or cylinder glaze
 Emission Control Devices for Engine Emissions

 Catalytic Converter
 Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Valve
 Particulate trap
 Chemical conversions
 Ammonia injection
 H2S absorption
 Catalytic Converter
A catalytic converter is a device that uses a catalyst to convert three
harmful compounds in car exhaust into harmless compounds. The
three harmful compounds are:

 Hydrocarbons (in the form of unburned gasoline)

 Carbon monoxide (formed by the combustion of gasoline)
 Nitrogen oxides (created when the heat in the engine forces
nitrogen in the air to combine with oxygen)
Catalytic converter

 It is used to reduce hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions

in SI engines.

 It uses two catalysts ; Platinum and Palladium to reduce HC and

CO.

 Rhodium is used to reduce NOx emission in CI engine in addition

to HC and CO emission.
 Catalytic Converter

 In a catalytic converter, the catalyst (in the form of platinum and

palladium) is coated onto a ceramic honeycomb or ceramic beads that are
housed in a muffler- like package attached to the exhaust pipe.

 The catalyst helps to convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide. It

converts the hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide and water. It also converts
the nitrogen oxides back into nitrogen and oxygen.
Catalytic Converter

Workshop on IC Engines
Technology, SIT, 27th Jan 2010
Efficiency of the Three-way Catalyst
Cold start up

 Temperature at which 50% converter effieicency is is attained is

knwon as light off temperature. Normally it ranges between 250-
300oC.
 Cold start is the source of 70-80% HC emissions.
 It may be reduced by preheating the catyltic converter to light off
temperature.

 Method of preheating includes;

 Locating the pre heater close to the engine exhaust
 -by employing electrical heaters
 By super insulation
 By flame heating
 Incorporating thermal batteries

CI Engines;
Catalytic converters are not efficient to reduce NOx because CI engines
operate on lean mixture.
 HC and CO only can be reduced even though little difficulty is realized
because of cooler exhaust gases.
 NOx is reduced in CI engines by EGR.

 Platinum and palladium are used in CI engines that promotes removal

of 30-80% HC and 40-90% CO in the exhaust.

 Catalytic converters have a little effect on soot reduction 30-60% of the

total particulate mass by oxidising a large percentage of HC. Sulphur
impurities in affects catalysts material.
Exhaust gas recirculation

 % EGR= (Vol. of EGR/Total charge intake into the cylinder) *100

 EGR ratio = (CO2)intake/(CO2)exhaust
 Cold EGR (Fully cooled and partly cooled) and Hot EGR
Exhaust gas recirculation
Exhaust gas recirculation

 % EGR= (Vol. of EGR/Total charge intake into the cylinder) *100

 EGR ratio = (CO2)intake/(CO2)exhaust
 Cold EGR (Fully cooled and partly cooled) and Hot EGR
Other methods

 Particulate traps
 Chemical methods:
 Ammonia injection systems
 H2S absorption
 Particulate trap
 Particulate traps are filter like materials made of ceramic in the form
of monolith, or mat or made of metal wire mesh.

 Remove particulate by about 60-90%.

 The particulates trapped by trap restrict the passage of exhaust and

raises back pressure of the engine.

 Higher back pressure causes engine hotter and the fuel consumption to
increase.

 To reduce the restriction, particulates can be regenerated when they

begin to saturate.
Regeneration consists of combusting the particulates by the excess oxygen
contained in the exhaust of CI engine.

Carbon soot ignites at 500-600oC (exhaust temp;150-350oC). The exhaust

gas temperature is not enough to ignite. Some systems have automatic
flame igniters.

These may be electric heaters or flame nozzles that use diesel fuel.

If the catalyst is installed in the catalyst then the temperature required to
ignite the carbon soot particle is 350-450oC.
Such traps can automatically regenerate by self igniting.
 Use of catalyst additives to the diesel fuel is also a promising one.

 These additives consist of copper or iron compounds with 5-8% of additive

in 1000 liters of fuel.

 Large stationary engines , trucks and construction equipments the traps

are regenerated by removing the trap and then burning carbon externally.

 Pressure drop can be measured to monitor the soot buildup.

Another method is to transmit radio frequency wave and determine the


% of absorption.

Fuel injector and combustion chamber geometry can reduce the



particulate generation.
Non exhaust emissions

 Sources;
 (i) Fuel tank
 (ii) Carburetor
 (iii)Crankcase (Crank case blowby)

Fuel tank and carburetor ;15-25%

Exhaust : HC-50-60%, CO; 100% and NO;100%
Crankcase blowby ; 20-35%
 The Motor Vehicle as a Source of
Air Pollution

Refueling Evaporative
Losses Emissions

Exhaust Crankcase
Emissions Losses, etc.
Factors affecting fuel tank losses

 Ambient and fuel tank temperature

 Mode of fuel vehicle operation
 Amount of fuel in the tank
 Volatility of the fuel
 Capacity, design and location of the fuel tank with respect to the
exhaust system and flow pattern of the heated air underneath the
vehicle
“ Less the tank fill, greater is the evaporation loss”
 Evaporative emissions

 Fuel tank losses;

 -breathing
 -When partially filled fuel tank is open to atmosphere the partial
pressure of vapour phase hydrocarbon and vapor pressure of the
liquid are equal and they are in equilibrium.
 When the temperature of liquid is increased, the vapor pressure of the
liquid will increase and will vaporize in an attempt to restore
equilibrium.
An additional liquid vaporize, the total pressure of the tank increases and
the vapour will leave thro’ the vent.

This outflow of the vapour will increase if in addition to temperature rise

of the liquefied gasoline the vapour temperature is also increased.
 Carburetor losses

 The operation of an engine depends on the level of gasoline in the float

chamber inside the carburetor.

 The engine stops running when the gasoline has been completely
utilized.

 Heat produced by the engine causes evaporation of some quantity of

gasoline from the float chamber.

 The evaporation of gasoline constitutes the main reason for the loss of
gasoline from the carburetor.
 Factors affecting carburetor losses

 External venting of the float bowl relieving the internal pressure as the
carburetor heats.

 ‘hot soak’ losses which occur after the engine has been stopped, as a
result of evaporation of petrol stored in the bowl.

 loss being through vent pipe or through the air cleaner

 Evaporative Loss Control Device

 It is used to control all evaporative emissions by capturing the vapours and

recirculating them at appropriate time.
 The absorbent chamber consists of charcoal or foamed polyurethene holds
tha hydrocarbon before it escapes to atmosphere.
 Carburetor bowl and fuel tank are directly connected to the absorbent
chamber when engine turned off (under hot soak).
Hot soak is the condition when a warmed up car is stopped and its engine
is turned off.

This results in some boiling in the carburetor bowl and significant

amount of HC loss occurs.
Thus, the hot soak loss, running loss from the carburetor as well as the
tank are arrested in the chamber and absorbed there. Diurnal cycle loss
from the tank is also taken care.
Vapour recovery system
Diurnal cycle is daily cycle variation in the temperature which causes the
tank breathing or forcing the gasoline out of tank.

When the absorbent bed when saturated is relieved of the vapours by a

stripping action allowing the air from the cleaner to draw them into the
intake manifold through the purge valve.

The internal seat of the pressure valve at that time is so located that there is
a direct pressure communication between the internal vent and the top of
the carburetor bowl, maintaining designed carbureting metering forces.
 The operation of the purge control valve is taken care of by the exhaust
gas pressure.

 Under boiling conditions the fuel supply is cut off so that the level of HC
can be reduced.

 The tolerance of the carburetor for supplying fuel air ratio reduces 3
percent only. This requires very accurate metering control.
Modern evaporative emission control system
 Vapour from the fuel tank goes to the top of the separator where the
liquid gasoline is separated and sent back to the fuel tank through the
fuel return pipe.

 A vent hole or vent pipe is provided for the carburetor for the flow of
fuel vapour. The vent hole is connected by a tube to a canister.

 Fuel vapours from the float chamber floe through the vent hole and the
tube to the canister.

 The canister absorbs the fuel vapour and stores them.

Absorption to the process of trapping the gasoline vapours by the activated
carbon particles filled inside the canister.

Vapour laden air from the fuel tank and the carburetor passes through the
canister.

HC are left in the canister due to the process of absorption, and air leaves
from the canister into the atmosphere.

When an engine started the inlet manifold sucks fresh air through the
canister.

The fresh air purges the gasoline vapour from the canister.
 Purging is the process of removing vapours from the charcoal particles
inside the canister.

 The air carries the hydrocarbon through the purge control solenoid
valve to the engine induction system.

 The purge control solenoid valve is controlled by the electronic

control module(ECM) of the compute command control (CCC) system
in modern automobiles.
Charcoal canister
Charcoal canister
 This type is used in the evaporative emission control system of petrol
engine.

 Fuel vapours from the float chamber of the carburetor enters in the
canister through the left end passage.

 Fuel vapours from the fuel tank enter through the mid passage into the
canister.

 When the engine not running the fuel vapours flow into this manner.

 The fuel vapours are absorbed by the charcoal particles present in the
canister.
When the engine runs, air reaches the charcoal canister due to the suction
provided by the engine.

This air carries by the hydrocarbon in the fuel vapours to the engine
manifold.

The purging action is shown in the right hand side.

As the charcoal is in the form of carbon, the charcoal canister is also called
carbon canister.
 Crank case blowby

The blowby is the phenomenon of leakge past the piston and piston rings
from the cylinder to the crankcase.

The blowby HC emissions are about 20% of the total HC emission from the
engine.
This will increaseby about 35% if the rings are worn.

The blowby rate is affected by the top clearance and the position of the top
ring because some of the quenched gas is recylced in the carbon ion chamber
and the ability of this to burn will depend on nearness to spark plug and the
flame speed etc.
The principle of control is recirculating the vapours back into the intake
air cleaner.

There are large numbers of different systems are in use.

The blowby cases are routed back into the intake manifold or inlet to the
carburettor.
 Blowby control

The blowby cases are consequently reintroduced into the combustion

chamber where they are burned along with the fresh incoming air and fuel.

Since the blowby handling devices place the crnck case under a slight
vacuum, they quickly became known as poitive crank case venitlation
system.
Positive Crank Case Ventilation
Evaporative emission control system
 Octane and cetane numbers

 Octane number : It is defined as the percentage by volume of iso

octane(C6H18) in a mixture of iso octane and normal heptane(C7H16).
C6H18 – Octane no-100, (C7H16)-Octane no-0

 Cetane number:
 It is defined as the percentage by volume of normal cetane(C16H34) in a
mixture of normal cetaneand alpha methyl napthalene(C11H10). C6H18 –
Cetaneno-100, (C11H10)-Cetane no-0
 References
1. V. Ganesan, Internal Combustion Engines, 4th Edition, TMH Publications,
New Delhi.
2. J.B. Heywood, Internal Combustion Engines Fundamentals, TMH
Publications, New York.
3. https://www.ingenieriaymecanicaautomotriz.com/valve-timing-
diagram-of-two-stroke-and-four-stroke-engines-theoretical-and-actual/
4. https://www.theengineerspost.com/types-of-ignition-system/
5. R. K. Rajput, Thermal Engineering, 6th Edition, Laxmi Publications. New
Delhi
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7. https://marketrealist.com/2016/11/crude-oil-refining/
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10. https://www.brainkart.com/article/Combustion-In-SI-Engines_6296
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